Tax breaks proposed for elimination

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The tax plan Governor Deval Patrick proposed this week would eliminate a flurry of personal tax breaks – from deductions for business lunches and charitable contributions to obscure provisions sparing taxes on settlements with coal miners and septic system upgrades. Administration and Finance officials stressed that under the governor’s plan, all taxpayers would see their personal exemption rate doubled – meaning many wouldn’t be taxed on the first $8,800 they make – and that they aim to simplify the tax code and eliminate special treatment for subsets of taxpayers.

Among the tax breaks that would remain untouched, though, are the earned income tax credit for low-income people, which costs the state about $132.3 million a year, and a film production tax credit that helps about 50 filmmakers save an average of $52,000 a year.

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